Present day mobile platforms, such as aircraft (manned and unmanned), spacecraft and even land vehicles, often require the use of an antenna aperture for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic wave signals. The antenna aperture is often provided in the form of a phased array antenna aperture having a plurality of antenna elements arranged in an X-Y grid-like arrangement on the mobile platform. Typically there is weight that is added to the mobile platform by the various components on which the radiating elements of the antenna are mounted. Often these components comprise aluminum blocks or other like substructures that add “parasitic” weight to the overall antenna aperture, but otherwise perform no function other than as a support structure for a portion of the antenna aperture. By the term “parasitic” it is meant weight that is associated with components of the antenna that are not directly necessary for transmitting or receiving operations.
Providing an antenna array that is able to form a load bearing structure for a portion of a mobile platform would provide important advantages. In particular, the number and nature of sensor functions capable of being implemented on the mobile platform could be increased significantly over conventional electronic antenna and sensor systems that require physical space within the mobile platform. Integrating the antenna into the structure of the mobile platform also eliminates the adverse effect on aerodynamics that is often produced when an antenna aperture is mounted on an exterior surface of a mobile platform. This would also eliminate the parasitic weight that would otherwise be present if the antenna aperture was formed as a distinct, independent component that required mounting on an interior or exterior surface of the mobile platform.
With various mobile platforms, there is also a need to provide an antenna array having one surface with a curvature that matches an outer mold line of the structure into which the antenna system is to be integrated. For example, on aircraft and spacecraft, where it would be desired to integrate an antenna system onto an area having a curving contour, such as a wing, it would be necessary to form the antenna system with one surface (i.e., a radome) having a curvature that will match the outer mold line of the structure at the area where the antenna system is to be integrated. This is often necessary for preserving the aerodynamic qualities of the mobile platform. This requirement becomes especially challenging when the antenna system is required to incorporate a large number of antenna elements that must be integrated into an area having a curving or otherwise non-linear contour.